Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the destination image of Mongolia held by actual and potential tourists, including how such images are formed and its implications in destination marketing. Design/methodology/approach - A quantitative research was undertaken in order to understand the image of Mongolia held by actual and potential tourists and how such images were formed. An online questionnaire survey, that utilized structured questions, was carried out in leading travel blogs. Findings - Destination image plays an important role in determining whether a destination will be visited or not. Actual visitors' experience and perception of Mongolia was found to be highly positive and showed that generally the projected image represents an accurate picture of Mongolia. However, many potential visitors perceived Mongolia to be a long haul destination, that is remote and isolated. Practical implications - Successful destination marketing campaigns will require tourism marketers to understand how those images are formed. This information will enable them to project a positive image to the right target markets. Understanding the information sources is beneficial to long haul destinations such as Mongolia, which can use such channels to promote their destination. Originality/value - Most destination image studies have concentrated on mainstream tourism destination and less popular long haul destinations such as Mongolia have received little, if no, attention. This paper will appeal to destination marketers of other long haul destinations who are seeking to position their destination in the right target markets.
